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Safeguarding Public Space By Dr Arvind Kumar In order to prepare India for a competitive and global future, it is essential to devise mechanism for individual empowerment and better governance in the new millennium, where civil society is on par with government; and in which tough yet flexible individuals can participate in and expand public forums on their own initiative and thus help to create a society that addresses pioneering challenges, and is more creative and imaginative. Such an assumption entails a spirit of self-help and empathy that presupposes ‘a dynamic public space’ as its incubator. What is meant is obviously a metaphoric space; a sphere in which the public good is collectively and openly negotiated. But it is equally apparent that such empowerment requires ‘real’ public spaces like parks, squares, promenades or other venues that support rich public cultures and nurture active individuals. An open society requires space for people to assemble, to come in contact w...

Asia’s Water Woes By Dr Arvind Kumar Water is a vital ingredient for life and human civilization. Yet recently, there have been new warnings about an imminent water crisis. John Beddington, a British scientist, has recently warned that water shortages would be the world's most pressing problem in the next decade, compounded by population growth; rapid urbanization; rising demand for food, energy and other water-intensive goods and services; and climate change. By 2025, about 52 countries containing two-thirds of the global population are expected to be short of water. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), China and India alone are forecast to have a combined supply shortfall of 1 trillion cubic meters in 2030. Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam are other countries near water stress conditions. In early October this year, a conference organised by ADB was told that Asia faced ‘unprecedented stress’ in water supply and that Asia neede...

Water Scarcity in Yemen By Dr Arvind Kumar Yemen is confronted with an increasingly violent secessionist movement in the south, a recurring insurgency in the north, and regular attacks against the government by the local Al-Qaeda affiliate. While these crises hog headlines and attract the attention of Western policymakers, social conflict over scarce resources may represent a more subtle long-term threat to the country. According to Yemen’s Ministry of Interior, much of social violence takes place in rural areas where the central government holds little sway, and claims the lives of over 4,000 people per year. Yemen's lack of water is potentially the most crippling crisis facing the country. Annual water availability per person is just 2 percent of the global average, and Sanaa is expected to be the first capital city in the world to run out of water. According to Gerhard Lichtenthaeler, a consultant with the German Technical Corporation (GTZ), the root of modern conflict ove...

Religion and Public Diplomacy Dr Arvind Kumar Religion is potent dource of peace, righteousness; and virtues. Religion can play positive role in nation-building, ending conflicts between nations, and prove humanitarian assistance for all whose lives are negatively impacted by war, poverty, illiteracy, human rights violations, natural disasters and religious extremism. Religious leaders should guide their followers in right earnest. Religious leaders must exercise their leadership, and engage in partnership with diplomatic initiatives, to bring about a cessation of violence against humanity, to work to confront and end religious extremism in all its forms, the domination of one religion over another and the domination of one nation over another. The religious leaders are resourceful in moulding public opinion on vital social issues. Hence they must be actively involved with stakeholders and decision-makers in the global community. And religious leaders must be seen as equal part...

UN Day BY Dr Arvind Kumar Today being the UN Day, need for peace, stability, and conflict resolution is direly felt. It is also time to review the working of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, along with the functioning of UN Specialized Age ncies. The member countries contribute to fund the activities of the UN and its agencies a nd it is the inherent right of the member countries to watch, observe and monitor the progress of activities being performed by the world body. Recent years have witnessed increased demand for enlargement of the membership of the Security Council. India, Japan, Brazil, Germany and South Africa are among the hot contenders of seeking permanent membership of the Security Council to envisage equilibrium in the world body. India’s case for permanent membership of the Security Council is well-deserved, especially in the wake of ongoing changes taking place at the regional and global levels and in view of growing international stature as w...

Innovative ideas matter By Dr Arvind Kumar The World Leaders are grappling with problems, trying, and failing, to meet impossible expectations, impossible time frames for delivery and impossible obstacles to success. It is not policies, but ideas that inspire today's peoples and electorates — and they need to be big ideas, too. The winning ideas will be those that are drawn from a profound understanding of the way the world now works, pierce through the fog of information overload and are promoted with wisdom and conviction. No use for leaders to rely on clever ad men, public relations experts who miss the real mood, or fashion-obsessed focus groups. And there seems no use drowning a nation's citizens in endless promises of detailed policy goals that an increasingly skeptical public doubts will ever be achieved, and certainly not by central government. And no use, again, relying on the old ideological rallying calls of the past, when neither the collectivist state nor the...

Peak to Decline By Dr Arvind Kumar Many experts have suggested that humankind has achieved an unsustainable pinnacle of population size and consumption rates, and that the road ahead will be mostly downhill—at least for the next few decades, until human species learn to live within Earth’s resource limits. The industrial expansion of the past century or two was mainly due to increased use of the concentrated energies of cheap fossil fuels; and that as oil, coal, and natural gas cease to be cheap and abundant, economic growth will phase into contraction. It can be observed that world oil production was at, or very nearly at its peak, and that the imminent decline in extraction rates will be decisive, because global transport is nearly all oil-dependent, and there is currently no adequate substitute for petroleum. Indeed, the shift from growth to contraction will impact every aspect of human existence—financial systems, food systems, global trade—at both the macro and micro levels...

A Unique Movement By Dr Arvind Kumar F ood Not Bombs (FNB) is one of the fastest growing revolutionary movements and is gaining momentum throughout the world. Through hundreds of autonomous chapters globally, it shares free vegetarian food to relieve hunger besides protesting against war, poverty, and social injustice. FNB isn't a charity. Through grassroots activism, it advocates peace and liberation of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. In addition, for the past three decades, it's worked to end hunger and backs efforts against globalization, free movement restrictions, exploitation, and environmental destruction. Co-founded in 1980 by Keith McHenry and other anti-nuclear activists in Cambridge MA, its autonomous, all volunteer groups advocate nonviolent social change. Among other activities, they recover edible, safe to eat food that would otherwise be discarded, using it to make "fresh hot...

Living Well By Dr Arvind Kumar The notion of living well should not be construed in terms of leading a luxurious and cosy life. It means redesigning urban and non-urban living environments, the restitution of the local, regional and national communal goods, and a quick transition toward renewable energy at a small scale, that must be oriented to the locality and owned by the local community, without hampering the natural balance, and including wind, solar, small scale hydro and wave and local biofuels, not global agrofuels. It also means reallocating the massive funds destined for war in order to heal Mother Earth. Living Well should aim at promoting an orderly reconstruction of the rural areas and the revitalization of communities by way of agrarian reform, education and application of eco-agricultural microfarming methods, based on native cultural and communal practices, the wealth of communities, fertile land, clean water and air. All of these approaches are in preparation for...

Abolish The War By Dr Arvind Kumar War has wrought immense destruction and complicated problems rather than solving them. Two World Wars fought during the Twentieth Century failed to consoidate forces of peace and the continued small wars in the Middle East, North Africa and some parts of Asia are causing massive damage without any tangible outcome. America’s long, drawn-out war in Iraq has encouraged drug and alcohol abuse in the ranks, and the associated misdemeanor offenses, have risen alarmingly in the nine-year course of the war. Sexual assault tripled in the period 2001-2009; and so did suicide. The institution of war seldom helps in solving problems. It is ironical that competition, violence and war are still considered "normal." It's rare to spot nonviolent, alternative methods, since they are so rarely featured in mainstream media. It is well-know that war causes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and its variant recently uncovered by psychologist Ra...

World Food Day By Dr Arvind Kumar World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1945. Ironically, about one billion people still suffer from food shortages around the world and it is the bounden duty of the international duty to take a united stand against hunger. While asserting that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of hungry people in the world is a pillar for achieving all eight of the globally-agreed targets with a 2015 deadline, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has lamented: "We are continually reminded that the world's food systems are not working in ways that ensure food security for the most vulnerable members of our societies. When people are hungry, they cannot break the crippling chains of poverty, and are vulnerable to infectious diseases. When children are hungry, they cannot grow, learn and develop." Recent r...

Au Revoir Commonwealth Games By Dr Arvind Kumar The Commonwealth Games 2010 came to spectacular closing in a dazzling ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on 14 October 2010. The giant aerostat displaying the Indian tri-colour reflected India's success, in both staging the event and excelling on the field of play. At the 12-day Commonwealth Games that India made an unprecedented medal haul and earned number two position in the medals tally. The Indian competitors breached the formidable hundred barrier, bagging 101 medals in all. India eventually more than doubled its medals tally of the previous Games, in Melbourne, by taking 101 medals including 38 gold medals. It had finished fourth in 2002 and 2006. The athletes, being ambassadors of their nations, bring the varied cultures of the Commonwealth nations into closer contact. The early qualms that in Delhi, these ideals may not be realised have been proved baseless. The closing ceremony was as spectacular ...

Let’s Globalize Honesty By Dr Arvind Kumar Globalisation has brought the rich and the crooked together. Globalization has benefited a few and widened disparities between the haves and have-nots. Crookedness, dishonesty, exploitation and corruption have h elped the rich become richer and the poor more poorer. Dishonesty and corruption are ubiquitous. Truth remains no longer a virtue and has become a matter of convenience. Corruption has increasingly been accepted. In many ways, it has been legalised. Democracy has not only helped corruption to grow, but has institutionalised it. Globalisation has further hastened the process by bringing the rich and the corrupt together. There is dire need of sensitive and concerned people to come together and stand up for the sake of honesty. Commitment to truth, honesty and sincerity should become a nationwide movement which should not be let to die down. Though a Herculean task, but is certainly do-able. Twin tasks of ‘inform and reform’ ha...

The China Climate Talks By Dr Arvind Kumar Recently concluded climate talks in Tianjin, China, have seemingly ended in a stalemate culminating in rising competition between the climate crisis giants, US and China. According to Christiana Figueres, the UN climate chief, some “concrete” results have been produced in Tianjin. A draft decision text produced in the meeting will be submitted to the coming Cancun Conference. In the wake of deadlock in the Tianjin talks, prospects for advancements in the forthcoming Cancun climate conference seem dim. Cancún summit will be bereft of participation of heads of state and no binding deal is expected to be made there. The issues discussed at the Tianjin meeting included: monitoring and verification, and developed countries’ failure to commit to substantial carbon emission reductions while making unfair demands of developing nations. Modest progress in establishing a climate fund for the poor countries, drawing up guidelines on sharing tech...

Asia’s Wildfires By Dr Arvind Kumar Damage accruing from the wildfires is as destructive as from earthquakes and cyclones. According to FAO’s estimates, Up to 56 million hectares of land are destroyed by wildfires each year in Asia. On the other hand, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Disaster Database EM-DAT, since 1970 wildfires have caused an estimated US$11.6 billion in economic damage in Asia. Therefore, the experts warn that though wildfires may not get the attention of earthquakes and cyclones but their destructive potential is considerable and warrants further attention. FAO’s forestry officer Pieter van Lierop told recently to the media: "We are seeing more and more really big fires. The control of these fires has become an issue of high importance, not only because of the increasing number of casualties and amounts of area burned, but also because of its link with other global issues, like climate change." In the opinion of ...

Yoga for Health and Prosperity By Dr Arvind Kumar Yoga as a way of life is predominantly concerned with maintaining a state of equanimity at all costs. It refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ is associated with meditative practices in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. All yoga schools of thought lay stress on the importance of the mind remaining calm, because as the saying goes, only when the water is still can you see through it. The underlying idea of yoga is to unite the individual soul with the Universal Soul. According to Yoga philosophy, by cleansing one`s mind and controlling one`s thought processes one can return to that primeval state, when the individual self was nothing but a part of the Divine Self. 1. Gyan Mudra (Mudra of Knowledge): Method: Touch the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger, with the other three fingers stretched out. Specialty: As it is a mudra of knowledge, it enhances the knowle...

Politics of Billionaires By Dr Arvind Kumar A recent media report indicated that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the world's second and third richest people, are likely to visit India sometime in 2011 to approach a group of India's richest to enlist their support for and views on setting up fund-raising initiatives in India. Gates-Buffet duo has reportedly succeeded in the US in getting around 40 billionaires to commit to donating half their wealth in a Giving Pledge. Recently this duo has reportedly held a much-publicised dinner in Beijing with around 50 of China's richest business people. According to Forbes magazine, the top 100 Indians are almost as wealthy as the top 400 richest Chinese. Though both China and India are fast growing economies, yet both are faced with growing divide between the rich and the poor, and between urban and rural areas. The Gates-Buffet mission is unclear as to what to do with donated funds. Businessmen alwa...

Trends in Arms Acquisitions Brimley Dr Arvind Kumar* *President, India Water Foundation, New Delhi. [A mad race for acquisition of sophisticated arms pervades t he contemporary international affairs. Both developed and developing countries are scrambling for modern arms in the name of national security without realizing their adverse impact on international peace and security. These are dangerous trends. Ed. ] In recent years, the domains facilitating all international interaction – sea, air, space, and cyberspace – have progressively become congested, contested, and complex. These domains constitute the connective tissue of an ever more interconnected international system. According to Shawn Brimley, the level of activity and investment by both state and non-state actors is rapidly increasing in these domains where satellites are being launched, submarines are being built, long-range aircraft procured, and powerful cyberspace capabilities are being maintained by states that...